CHICAGO HOME
Rounded shapes and strong shades update the 1980s aesthetic in Jen Talbot's design for this Chicago home - mining the past has created the style of the future
Designer Jen Talbot’s vision for this house channels the very best of 1980s sophistication to polished, playful effect
However, Jen points out, in looking back on the design process, selectivity was key. ‘The client and I were both teenagers in the 1980s, so we still had vivid memories of neon, pink squiggles and triangles. Not to mention big hair and too much eyeliner…’ But by keeping a tight focus, Jen has dipped into the decade of excess and picked out its greatest, most elegant hits. ‘I was very conscious of keeping things sophisticated,’ she says. ‘That way, the rooms will still feel relevant in the future.’
Getting into the right 1980s groove, Jen says, ‘was a fantastic challenge. It pushed me into seeing things in a different light and putting pieces together in fresh ways.’ Her client was Carrie Meghie, her husband Terry and their two sons. Carrie is co-president of Becker Ventures, which oversees high-profile luxury property developments, so the design bar was already set pretty high. ‘Carrie has incredible taste, but she also gave me free rein. And that’s definitely when and how I work best.’
Built in 2013, the house – and its style – was a change for the designer. ‘I usually feel at home in houses with period features, rather than a sleek box,’ says Jen. Without fireplaces or mouldings to shape the spaces, she had to create her own focal points, but once the research and sourcing stage was done, she was not short on standout statements. Jen consciously avoided anything too faddy because, even when you’re referencing an era or a style, ‘you’re still looking for an element of timelessness’. She equates it to the allure of vintage fashion. ‘If you find a 1980s suit by Gucci or Dior, there’s a quality to its cut that elevates it and keeps it relevant.’
Jen updated her vintage finds by setting them alongside pieces by new international designers, but also customised many of the late-1970s and 1980s furnishings she sourced. A brilliantly bulbous bed base, shapely Giovanni Offredi chairs and a three-piece suite
Designer Jen Talbot’s reinvention of this modern house is proof that the 1980s is a surprisingly rich source of inspiration.
encased in geometric frames all saw the benefit of her elegant revamps with fresh upholstery. ‘I love being able to see the potential in a piece of furniture that other people have overlooked simply because the fabric is sludgy and dull,’ she says. And by bringing out the beauty of a design by recasting it in a deep-teal or blush-pink fabric, Jen has added another layer to its story. ‘To see the shape emerge again in a fresh colour is amazing,’ she adds.
Colour is a large part of this home’s personality, with shades of turquoise, blush, camel and rust setting a luxurious mood, alongside expanses of granite. Jen’s approach to colour is fearless – and stems from her art-school training and previous career as an installation artist. ‘I approach adding colour to a room in the same way as a painter approaches a canvas,’ she says. This means that rather than use bright colours as a shock tactic, Jen always maintains a sense of the overall composition, be it the room or the house as a whole.
‘Colours will sometimes be applied in large sweeps with a wide brush; other times, a tiny, delicate touch is all that’s needed,’ she says. ‘Those brushstrokes depend on the room itself and the client.’ Whether her strokes are large or small in scale, Jen errs towards muted or deep tones rather than simplistic primary colours. ‘That way, colour feels more nuanced,’ she explains.
In the designer’s schemes, scale and texture also play their parts. ‘I’m always thinking in terms of balancing proportions and visual textures,’ she says. With plenty of high-impact designs in each space, Jen keeps her compositions uncrowded, so neighbouring pieces of furniture don’t vie for attention. ‘You have to let some items in the room be the understudy,’ she adds.
The final 1980s element that brings this beautiful home to life is a superb selection of curves. They are at work everywhere, from the flowing folds of the Soriana sofa by Tobia Scarpa to contemporary tables by Agnes Studio and Sarah Ellison. In part, the 1980s are responsible, but Jen is also thinking of the future. ‘To me, they soften the hard angles in this home and keep it feeling contemporary,’ she says. As the designer demonstrates, when delving into the 1980s, moderation is everything…
See more of Jen Talbot’s work at jentalbotdesign.com